Chad mission to test Union’s will and power

Diplomats are warning that a planned mission to Chad could be one of the Union’s most challenging operations yet.

Last week (23 July) EU foreign ministers backed further planning for an EU-led mission of 3,000 troops to protect nearly 400,000 refugees and displaced persons from the crisis in neighbouring Darfur.

The plan has evolved from an initial idea of French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, shortly after he was appointed to Nicolas Sarkozy’s government in June, to create humanitarian aid ‘corridors’ in Chad. Initially, diplomats - including staff within the French foreign ministry - were sceptical about the mission. There were also concerns from aid groups that the concept of corridors protected by European soldiers could attract attacks from hostile militias because of a perceived politicisation of their mission.

The deployment in Chad and in the north-eastern part of the Central African Republic would be a bridging mission along the lines of the EU’s Artemis missions in Bunia in the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2003, meaning that the EU force would be in place only until a UN mission could be assembled and deployed. But diplomats point out that the Artemis mission was short, running from June until September, and operated in a smaller geographical area than the planned Chad mission. There are reservations because of the large geographical area where the refugee camps are located along Chad’s eastern border with the Darfur region. Artemis also involved fewer than 2,000 troops.

The Chad mission, by contrast, would be in place for at least six months with the possibility of an extension by a further six months and would require around 3,000 personnel.

The overall aim of the mission would be to bring security to the region and would consist of a civilian policing mission and a military security mission. It would require a United Nations Security Council mandate to cover both aspects. The police mission would be deployed in camps for refugees and displaced persons in eastern Chad, made up of around 800 Chadian gendarmes (or military personnel with policing responsibilities) and a further 300 international police officers and trainers.

The military mission would ensure the security of the area against attacks by hostile forces. This force would not be responsible for border management, which would continue to be carried out by Chadian national forces.

The composition of the military force is proving a significant challenge. While France has offered 1,000-1,500 troops, there is widespread agreement that to be effective the EU mission has to be truly international in character and should not be dominated by the French. This is partly because of the history of French intervention and influence in the francophone part of Africa. The UK and Germany have made it clear that while they support the mission they would not be able to send troops because of their commitments in other theatres such as Iraq and Afghanistan. France is reported to have proposed using the Nordic battle group, which is commanded by a Swede and includes 2,400 personnel from Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Ireland and non-EU member Norway. Spain and Portugal may also provide some troops and there is a possibility of involving officers and troops from regional organisations such as the African Union or CEN-SAD, the group of Sahel-Saharan countries.

While France already has around 1,000 troops based in Chad, other EU nations would face logistical challenges in getting their personnel to the region and ensuring the necessary supply infrastructure.

For the mission to go ahead, there would have to be a clear exit strategy for the EU force, including a commitment that it would be replaced by a UN force, probably larger in size, after six or 12 months.

Planning and preparations are continuing and the aim is to deploy the force, once there is a UN mandate, when Chad’s rainy season is over, towards the end of October. The mission is intended to begin before the hybrid African Union-United Nations mission, which will be sent to Darfur but may not be ready before 2008.

On Tuesday (31 July), the United Nations Security Council approved sending 26,000 troops and police to Darfur. The aim is to deploy the force by the end of the year.

International humanitarian aid organisations have been calling for "tough rules of engagement" so that troops can carry out their mission to defend refugees, displaced persons and humani-tarian aid workers against possible attacks.

Aid experts hope that member states’ political will to launch the Chad mission and make it a success will be enough to overcome the logistical challenges.

The Artemis mission was one of the EU’s first security and defence missions and its success gave the Union confi-dence to undertake on more ambitious operations. But the scale of the crisis caused by the conflict in Darfur could stretch the EU’s political will and its military capabilities to the limit.

Diplomats are warning that a planned mission to Chad could be one of the Union’s most challenging operations yet.